You guys! I have a veggie garden! Well at least I think it is? There are loads of greens popping up (some I’ve been told are weeds – eep!) and I’m just so excited to cook with them. One particularly large bunch of sage seems to have thrived and now my head is spinning with delicious recipes, mostly just recipes that include burnt sage butter – pouring it all over freshly made gnocchi (not by me as I haven’t mastered this skill yet) and topping it with freshly grated parmesan and cracked pepper. Drooooool.

But of course I’ve naturally leaned towards ice cream. Anyone who knows me, knows my dead-set obsession with all things ice cream. When I was in Italy, for ahem, research, I literally ate hundreds of gelato over a month. But currently I’m #shreddingforthewedding so really need to find substitutes for my indulgence.

I also got an ice cream maker a few months back and have barely used it. It seems rather intimidating making ice cream but it’s actually super duper easy. I have the basic Cuisinart 2L ice cream maker and it’s such a great little machine.

You do need to remember to freeze the freezer bowl for at least 24 hours but that’s hardly an inconvenience. I leave it in there unless it’s churning so I don’t forget. They do have a supreme ice cream maker that doesn’t require this step (in built freezer thingy), but it costs around 3-4 times the price so not really worth it unless you’re making bulk ice cream. You could always buy an extra bowl if you want to make a few in one night.

So far i’ve tried traditional chocolate (still perfecting) and I had great success on this creamy coffee coconut ice cream so decided to try a fruity one this time around. The combination of raspberry and sage can only be described as delightful. The fresh, juicy raspberries marry so well with the earthy sage & creamy coconut. Decadent. Fresh and oh so indulgent. You could honestly eat a bucket and not get that sick feeling of sugar/cream overload that you get with normal ice cream.

It’s funny how your taste buds change, I had a normal ice cream the other day and it honestly tasted rank. Far too sweet and I felt sick for hours after.

But this ice cream is nothing like that. You honestly won’t believe how deliciously light and creamy it is. You might know that blended frozen banana can make a totally kick ass ice cream substitute and don’t worry – you’ll see a few of those recipes from me shortly, but today – we use coconut milk. It makes it so creamy, fluffy, soft and mimics the texture of ice cream almost perfectly. How the heck does that happen? All I can say is YES.

If you want to save on the cost, you could use frozen raspberries instead in this recipe but I love the freshness of the real thing. You can up or down the sage but the flavour doesn’t really come through with less than 6 leaves.

And don’t skip chilling the coconut milk before mixing with the other ingredients.

The recipe is super easy to make, you just blend the raspberries and sage, and mix it with the other ingredients. After it’s time in the ice cream maker you’ll have a mousse like soft ice cream which is so delicious as is. You can pop it in the freezer for a harder ice cream but I could hardly wait.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you could freeze it and pull it out every 30-60 minutes to mix, although it wont come up with the same consistency, it will still work.

Enjoy my friends and let me know what you think in the comments. And p.s how do you like my first attempt at “dark food photography”? I love the mood and dreaminess it creates in the photos.

Don’t forget to hashtag #cookwiththemacadames when making our recipes. We love to see how you went and get a peek at your kitchen table.

What you need:

Blender

Ice cream maker

Ingredients (makes approx 1L):

1 can full fat coconut milk or cream, chilled

1/4-1/3 cup maple (depending on how sweet you like it)

1 punnet of fresh raspberries

6 sage leaves

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

1. Shake the can of coconut milk or cream well. Pop all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

2. Put the mixture into the fridge for an hour or so to chill. This isn’t mandatory but blending can sometimes heat the mix and the ice cream maker works best with chilled ice cream bases.

3. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and follow the instructions. I find 30-40 minutes is the perfect time for most batches. You’ll need to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t over churn. It should be a frozen creamy texture but not solid.

4. Transfer to a freezer safe container to set. Leave for at least 3-5 hours but overnight is ok too. If you freeze overnight, you should get it out at least 20-30 minutes before you want to serve.

5. To serve: Serve a few scoops of ice cream and garnish with fresh sage leaves.

Storage: in the freezer for up to a week.

Notes:

*The coconut milk should be full fat as this will ensure a creamier ice cream. Don’t go for the light options.

*Chilling the coconut milk is highly preferable.

*If you don’t have an ice cream maker: although it doesn’t quite end up quite as creamy, make sure the mixture is cool when popping it in the freezer and then rigorously whisk it every half hour for 2-3 hours while it freezes.

Thanks for stopping by. I do love the sage too. Yep there is, just blend the ingredients & then pop into a freezer safe container. Take out every 30 minutes and whisk vigorously. Do this around 6 times. It won’t be as creamy but it will work. Good luck!